Antony,Defense Minister

A K Antony, kerala's perennial Mr Clean is India's Defense Minister. Kerala has had its own share of men in the national cabinet - but its a different feeling when one of the state's most respected leaders has the responsibility thrust upon him by the sheer strength of his character. It is a different feeling from when Kannoth Karu became the Industries minister back in '95. It defenitely is.

The defense minister, National Security Adviser, Foreign Secretary of India, Space agency Chairman , India's candidate for the UN secretary bid , Primeminister's secretary, President's secretary and a home-rule government at centre - the line up in Delhi looks pretty impressive for a state notorious for its indifference to Delhi and highly under represented in the nation's capital. Is kerala becoming less introvert ?

Comparing Mr Antony to Krishna Menon would be doing injustice to both of them. The frames of reference have changed - Indian defense is on the right track of modernisation and in the process of redefining our strategic goals in the sub-continent and the Indian ocean region. A laissez-faire approach with respect to the defense policy makers will be more beneficial here. Calling A K Antony inexperienced makes no sense here - the only experience that would help a defense minister will be experience as a defense minister ; that argument will lead us to Catch 22 then.

Where A K Antony and his zero tolerance to corruption will - I hope - come into play is in the already notorious defense deals of India. 890,000 million rupees annual budget allocation is sure to attract a lot of Ottavio Quattrochi's and Barak missile sellers. Sonia Gandhi would be remembering that early winter Diwali in Delhi when there were no crackers because Bofors had provided enough. The choice of Antony as the defense minister would be a right step towards some clean-up.

Tailpiece : If the battered Congress party plans to fight another election in Kerala, they badly need to reunite the warring factions - especially the DIC (K) faction which has a considerable
influence in South Kerala and Malabar (cause there are a lot of people still wanting to make kannoth karu the Kerala CM) . The only figure who could rise about the partisan squabbles while leading the party is 'Saint' Antony and the Maino high-command realizes it pretty well. His new role is a pointer towards the future of the congress party in kerala.

Good Night and Good Luck !

Will Kannur explode again ?

I'm not a soothsayer nor am I sitting on top of Kerala's state intelligence to say this. Its just a few news reports across the last few weeks and some conversations here and there. There have been reports of a gradual build up of ammunition and bomb making in the north malabar district of Kannur. There are reported incidents of accidental explosions and some real steel bomb testing being done. Anyone who follows Kerala's immediate political history will know the color of Kannur and the history of violence in the district.

Most of us in Kerala would remember the december 1999 and december 2000 incidents in Kannur which had a total death toll of around fifty and caused near stand-still in the state. I fear another build up this time as the 'martyr's month' approaches. It might be a wild guess of sorts but it needs to be read in the overall climate created by the release of the 'Marad riots' report last week. The hindu fundamentalist sangh could turn this to their advantage by inciting fresh violence in malabar as the Marad report squarely blames the NDF and elements within the Muslim league for the killings. We need to be careful ,very careful.

The clashes between the RSS and the communists had subsided after both parties agreed on a ceasefire and after the leadership of both parties realized the unacceptability of damages. The RSS must realize that they have nothing to gain politically from these violent acts - in the last elections BJP polled a pathetic 0.5% of the total votes in Kannur. The clout they have among the Bharatiya Masdoor Sangh could be put to better use than building bombs.

The CPIM should realize that retaliatory attacks from its side will not improve the situation any further. Moreover the wounds of Nadapuram and the muslim fundamentalist elements waiting there could use Kannur as a new ploy. As the governing party, I hope CPIM will show more maturity in case something bad happens. Kannur is the citadel of Communism in Kerala and let it not be a wound in our psyche. Revolution comes through disciplined, peaceful party building, and not through tit-for-tat acts of violence.

Peace prevails in Kannur today only because of the maturity of our political leadership - both CPIM and the BJP. Some credit also goes to A K Antony's police policy that reined in the IUML and NDF elements in Malabar. Let peace prevail but let us be aware of the ides of December. Let us be very aware.

Good Night and Good Luck !

It is May 11th in Kerala

A Red wave has swept across Kerala,the left front has swept back to power in the state with an emphatic record breaking victory.As counting of votes reach the last lap,the writing on the wall is clear and is very red in colour.

Across the state stalwarts of the outgoing government are facing defeat.Muslim league is facing defeat in all its bastions,fallen include its general secretary P.K.Kunhalikutty.The three top leaders of league Kunhalikutty,Muneer and Basheer have been defeated at home.Eleven time winner Gauriamma has been defeated,Balkrishna pillai,Murali and around fifteen ministers have lost,M V Raghavan and T M Jacob have been defeated.It is as if Keralites have chased and defeated the bad apples.In the southern districts Congress party has been wiped out,forts have fallen across the cochin belt and in Malabar,muslim league is facing its worst nightmare - malappuram the league fort has turned red.

The final seats will be available later in the day and the new Chief Minister will be decided.It is a great day for the progressive,secular forces in the state,adding to the euphoria is the left front's seventh consecutive victory in West Bengal with another record majority.It appears the Kerala voter has swayed leftward and democracy has come home after a short break.

It is a night to celebrate democracy.

Good Night and Good Luck !

On May 11th in Kerala

Elias John (Aniyara,Surya Tv),May 2001 :

"Inspite of all the criticism this programme has aired against the Nayanar government,we feel sad today.Because Kerala is losing yet another left front government.Because our past experiences tells us not to expect anything in the next five years"

five years since,its seems malayalam telivision's Ed Murrow was in a prophetic mood that day.

A change is inevitable in gods own country.Because we've had enough of dysfunctional governance.Because we've had enough of aya ram gaya ram squabbles.Because we've had enough of ice cream parlour rapists.Because we've mortaged most of the state.Because all our exam papers leak.Because we dont need muslim league and its casanova kuttis.Because we've become a land of mafias.Because the father,son and the holy spirit suck.Because the chief executive is a convenor of corruption.Because Devils own land is a tagline in the making.
Not to forget we have one of the highest consumption of liquor,highest suicide rate and high unemployment as well.

In his book,Development as Freedom,Sen compares US,China and Kerala.I read again,its US,China and Kerala.It was a pleasant surprise.This was not the first time the Kerala model was being touted as a road map for all the developing world,time and again the green strip has been on the radar of global think tanks.

Kerala is a land where social development has gone hand in hand with economic and political development,rather it has overtook the two.Its Human development index compares with North America and Europe in many parameters.Areas like medical care,education,social harmony,rural infrastructure and political vigilance have reached a point where developmental economists sit up and take note.

Because Kerala has the least mortality of infants.Because kerala has the highest sex ratio - which means if you are a girl child,you dont get killed down here.Because kerala has one of the worlds highest life expectancies.Because kerala is one urban stretch of four hundred miles.Because ink pads dont sell in kerala - they use pens instead.Because kerala is one place where extinction of lion tailed monkey or the ghat deer can bring down cabinets.Because the ubiquitous tea shops discuss 'mandari' disease in coconuts and lula of brazil with the same concern.Because people on an average read three newspapers down here.

If one looks at Kerala's political history - the state is 50 years old,the left front has been in power for around fifteen years.(excluding the right wing left front party).The congress lead governments ruled the rest of the years.Now if you look at path breaking reforms that made all the above possible,it was more or less during those fifteen years.Be it the land reforms,educational reforms and wage reforms brought about in 1957 by the EMS government (the first democratically elected left front government in the world).The coalation politics dharma of the sixties - another first in India.The literacy campaign of the eighties - another first in India.The peoples plan of the nineties - ditto.

The last term of the left front saw the Peoples plan campaign,stretching four long years.The idea was to eliminate centralised power and centralised planning.How could a beurocrat or a minister sitting somewhere in a capital city know what is good for a far away village,whether they need a bridge or a school or an internet kiosk.All across the state people met in schools,everyweek and made their list of developmental demands,based on ground realities and burning needs of the time.Village roads and bridges were built in places not even on the surveyor of India maps.Power percolated to lowest levels of society.Development and its benefits were not anymore confined to the urban shopping centres,goverment offices and kitchen coteries of the men in power.Every village and every town in kerala felt energized,it was probably the greatest leap forward in the history of development in Kerala.

It surely increased the overall debt of the state manifold and drew a lot of crticism from world bank and the Asian bank.Today after five years when one looks back at the days of Peoples Plan (the brain child of late EMS Namboodiridpad)we realise the good it has done to the state,it was an astute marxist's understanding of kerala's developmental needs in a economy which was getting liberalised from all the sides,it was a theoritician's insightful comparison of Kerala's present state with meiji era Japan and pre-reform China.

The new left front government which I believe will take oath in May,will have to lead Kerala from a support led success story to a growth meditated success.As a close adulator of kerala model and its politics,I am excited at what will be in store for the state this time around.I am optimistic about change because these guys been there before,they've delivered before.On May 11 th Kerala will have its tyrst with destiny and 'hope' may be retuned to us after a long wait of five years.

Good Night and Good Luck !